Iran protests spread to vital oil industry as government cracks down
- Students have played a key role in the demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody – now reports say refinery workers are joining in
- A combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and bazaar merchants had helped sweep the clergy to power in the Iranian revolution four decades ago
Iranian security forces intensified a crackdown on anti-government protests in several Kurdish cities on Monday, as demonstrations elsewhere in Iran spread into the country’s vital energy sector.
Protests have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iran’s Kurdish region, died on September 16 while being held for “inappropriate attire”, marking one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
While university students have played a pivotal role in the protests with dozens of universities on strike, unconfirmed reports on social media showed workers at Abadan and Kangan oil refineries and the Bushehr Petrochemical Project had joined in.
Iran’s oil ministry was not immediately available to comment.
02:31
Schoolgirls without headscarves chase male official from campus as protests continue in Iran
A combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and bazaar merchants helped to sweep the clergy to power in the Iranian revolution four decades ago.